PeopleofSuperintelligence

Public voice

Anil Ananthaswamy

A science writer and former software engineer, Anil Ananthaswamy wrote Why Machines Learn, a 2024 book on the mathematics behind machine learning. He earned electrical engineering degrees at IIT Madras and the University of Washington, Seattle, and worked as a software engineer in Silicon Valley through the 1990s. In 2000 he completed a science-writing certificate at UC Santa Cruz, and he went on to write for New Scientist, where he became deputy news editor. Physics World named his 2010 book The Edge of Physics its book of the year, and he was a Science Communicator in Residence at the Simons Institute during its 2024–2025 special year on large language models. At IIT Madras, he is a Professor of Practice in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Timeline

  1. 1985–1987

    Electrical engineering degrees

    He completes a B.Tech in electrical engineering at IIT Madras in 1985. Then, in 1987, he completes an M.S. in electrical engineering at the University of Washington, Seattle.

  2. 1990s

    Software engineer in Silicon Valley

    After his M.S. in 1987, he works as a software engineer on distributed systems in Silicon Valley through the 1990s.

  3. 2000

    A science-writing certificate

    At UC Santa Cruz he completes a science-writing graduate certificate in 2000. He writes for New Scientist from 2000, later as its deputy news editor.

  4. 2010

    The Edge of Physics

    His first book, The Edge of Physics, is published in 2010, and Physics World names it book of the year.

  5. 2019–2020

    Retraining in machine learning

    In 2019 and 2020 he is a Knight Science Journalism fellow at MIT, where he retrains in machine learning and deep neural networks.

  6. 2024

    Why Machines Learn

    He publishes Why Machines Learn in 2024, a narrative explanation of the mathematics that has brought us machine learning.

  7. 2024–2025

    A residency at the Simons Institute

    He serves as Science Communicator in Residence for the Simons Institute's special year on large language models and transformers in Fall 2024 and Spring 2025.

  8. Since 2026

    Professor of Practice at IIT Madras

    In 2026 he joins IIT Madras as Professor of Practice in the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Sources and credits

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  1. Mr. Anil Ananthaswamy | IITM Heritage Centre heritage.iitm.ac.in. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Anil Ananthaswamy - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Off the Beaten Track: An Interview with Anil Ananthaswamy - The Fifth Estate, IIT Madras t5eiitm.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Anil Ananthaswamy simons.berkeley.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Anil Ananthaswamy anilananthaswamy.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Why Machines Learn by Anil Ananthaswamy: 9780593185766 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books penguinrandomhouse.com. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Why Machines Learn bookroo.com. Checked 14 October 2026.